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State v. Green7/30/1998
States Constitution as well as Article I, Section 27 of the North Carolina Constitution. Defendant's argument is threefold: first, sentencing a thirteen-year-old to life imprisonment does not comport with current societal standards of decency; second, defendant's sentence is disproportionate to the crime committed and without penological justification; and third, defendant's sentence is cruel and unusual because defendant is the only thirteen-year-old who will be sentenced to a mandatory life sentence for first-degree sexual offense. We find defendant's contentions to be without merit.
The Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution states: "Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted." U.S. Const. amend. VIII (emphasis added). Article I, Section 27 of the North Carolina Constitution mirrors the language of the Eighth Amendment, except Section 27 prohibits "cruel or unusual punishments." N.C. Const. art. I, ยง 27 (emphasis added). However, this Court historically has analyzed cruel and/or unusual punishment claims by criminal defendants the same under both the federal and state Constitutions. See, e.g., State v. Bronson, 333 N.C. 67, 423 S.E.2d 772 (1992); State v. Rogers, 323 N.C. 658, 374 S.E.2d 852 (1989); State v. Peek, 313 N.C. 266, 328 S.E.2d 249 (1985); State v. Higginbottom, 312 N.C. 760, 324 S.E.2d 834 (1985); State v. Fulcher, 294 N.C. 503, 243 S.E.2d 338 (1978). As the Supreme Court stated in Trop v. Dulles, 356 U.S. 86, 2 L. Ed. 2d 630 (1958):
Whether the word "unusual" has any qualitative meaning different from "cruel" is not clear. On the few occasions this Court has had to consider the meaning of the phrase, precise distinctions between cruelty and unusualness do not seem to have been drawn. These cases indicate that the Court simply examines the particular punishment involved in light of the basic prohibition against inhuman treatment, without regard to any subtleties of meaning that might be latent in the word "unusual."
Id. at 100 n.32, 2 L. Ed. 2d at 642 n.32 (citations omitted). Thus, we examine each of defendant's contentions in light of the general principles enunciated by this Court and the Supreme Court guiding cruel and unusual punishment analysis.
Defendant first argues that his sentence contravenes current standards of decency. This argument finds its origin in Trop v. Dulles, one of the classic cases on the Eighth Amendment. There, the Supreme Court traced the historic foundations of the Eighth Amendment and stated: "The basic concept underlying the Eighth Amendment is nothing less than the dignity of man. While the State has the power to punish, the Amendment stands to assure that this power be exercised within the limits of civilized standards." Id. at 100, 2 L. Ed. 2d at 642. Noting that "the words of the Amendment are not precise, and that their scope is not static[,] he Amendment must draw its meaning from the evolving standards of decency that mark the progress of a maturing society." Id. at 100-01, 2 L. Ed. 2d at 642 (emphasis added). The Court expounded upon this principle in Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153, 49 L. Ed. 2d 859 (1976). In Gregg, the Court counseled that since the prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment is not a static concept, courts should look to objective indications of society's current values in determining whether the punishment in question complies with such "evolving standards." Id. at 173, 49 L. Ed. 2d at 874. In so doing, however, the Gregg Court warned, "we may not act as Judges as we might as legislators," id. at 174, 49 L. Ed. 2d at 875, and quoted Justice Frankfurter in setting forth the rationale for such caution:
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